Overview
Relational Cities: Building Connections in Uncertain Times
Date: Thursday, 26th November 2026
Time: 9:00am to 6:00pm (AEDT)
Location: Balam Balam Place, 15 Phoenix St, Brunswick VIC 3056
“Relational Cities” is an exploration of relational thinking in uncertain times for urban research and practice. Aligning with recent shifts in urban studies research towards immersion and advancing embodied forms of knowing and working, researchers from the Melbourne Centre for Cities are examining the urban environment with a focus on the affective, multi-sensory, and more-than-human worlds which we inhabit.
Uncertainty defines our times. From career trajectories to global geopolitics and to dwelling and place, urban researchers are faced with challenges that can only be tackled by building community and connection to the life, places, and ideas that sustain us. As a community of researchers, we have developed a symposium that foregrounds ways of working collaboratively and creatively across disciplines and practices of urban research.
“Relational Cities” proposes three themes of relation building in uncertain times: place, justice and networks. These will be reflected in panel discussions, walks, and creative sessions, to explore how we build relations to place, how we engage for justice, and how we construct networks of solidarity in urban research.
Cities are places that are experienced, always becoming, and relational, and our Symposium program will do the same. Collaborative activities (re)turn to embodied approaches of walking, drawing and scribing, with the aim of situating and attuning to the affective worlds around and among us.
This year's Symposium will also feature participation from our 2026 Horizons program cohort.
We invite you to join us, with registrations now open, and details below. Further information on speakers and our program will be added as this becomes available.
Keynote
No more silver bullets! Thinking ecologically about people power in cities
In the face of all the urban injustices that are felt across the planet, what is to be done? For people living in cities and trying to change them for the better, this is not just a question of ‘what do we want?’. The question of ‘what do we want?’ is just one of a broader set of questions about strategy – how do we understand our power, how do we build it, how do we use it, how do we win? Inevitably, even when people agree on what they want, they might have very different answers to these broader strategic questions. In this talk, drawing on examples from People Power in Cities, Professor Iveson will unpack some of these key differences, and explore the potential for thinking and acting ecologically to forge supportive relationships between diverse people power strategies.
Program
Further details on these sessions and speakers will be added here as they become available.
- Thursday 26 November 2026
-
9.00–9.30am
Registrations
-
9.30am–10.00am
Welcome
A Welcome to Country followed by an introduction to the day's program.
-
10.00–10.50am
Relational Cities: Place
Short presentations from a range of speakers relating to the theme of 'place'.
-
10.50–11.10am
Morning Tea
-
11.10am–12.00pm
Walks and Outdoor Sessions
An opportunity to participate in breakout sessions including researcher-led guided walks and outdoor discussions. Alternative options will also be available during this section of the program.
-
12.00–1.00pm
Relational Cities: Justice
A panel session featuring a range of speakers discussing the theme 'justice'.
-
1.00–2.00pm
Lunch
-
2.00–3.00pm
Relational Cities: Networks
Short presentations from a range of speakers relating to the theme of 'networks'.
-
3.00–4.00pm
Creative Breakout Sessions
Participatory breakout sessions led by participants in the 2026 Horizons Program.
-
4.00–4.30pm
Music Break and Keynote Registrations
-
4.30–6.00pm
Keynote
A keynote presentation delivered by Professor Kurt Iveson.
Registrations
The Melbourne Centre for Cities Symposium is free to attend.
Please register via Eventbrite.